As The Africa Union Adopts New Plan of Action; Will Member States Give Health and Developmental Justice a Chance?

After discussing drug control in Africa, discussions often focus on criminality, arrests, and seizures of illicit drugs, with the idea of increasing sanctions to deter trafficking and stigmatizing drug users. Although securing borders and holding drug traffickers accountable are important, we have neglected the human impact of drug use for too long. A recent survey in Abuja, Nigeria, showed that drug use is increasing in the community, and this is what many young people have observed in their neighborhoods.

In 2014, the West Africa Commission on Drugs, led by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, released a report titled "Not just in Transit: Drugs, State and Society in West Africa." The report highlighted the reality of the illicit drug trade, rising consumption, and health-related challenges faced by the growing population in West African countries. It called for a shift from the traditional "war on drugs" to a more pragmatic approach that takes into account the realities of drug use in communities.

Nigeria's drug laws treat drug use and drug trafficking similarly, with the NDLEA Act (2004) imposing prison sentences ranging from 15 to 25 years for drug use. While policies have shifted to address drug use more indirectly, the reliance on the criminal justice system to tackle a public health issue remains. This has led to numerous human rights violations, excessive arrests, extortions, limited treatment and rehabilitation facilities, and decreased government funding for health and harm reduction programs, all of which are recognized as effective public health interventions by the World Health Organization.

Despite the impressive arrest and drug seizure statistics, the human cost of focusing primarily on law enforcement has become difficult to ignore. With over 14.3 million people using illicit drugs in Nigeria and an increase in HIV prevalence among those who inject drugs from 4.4% in 2019 to 10.9% in 2020, it is clear that the conventional "war on drugs" approach is failing.

A more effective strategy would be a developmental justice approach, combining proportionate law enforcement with prevention, harm reduction, treatment, social protection, and meaningful participation of affected communities. This approach would allocate responsibilities and resources fairly while safeguarding the health, dignity, and future of the youth.

As member states convene in Luanda, Angola, from November 15th to 16th to discuss and adopt the next African Union Plan of Action on Drug Control, leaders should move beyond the rhetoric of the "war on drugs." Instead, they should adopt a plan that no longer justifies punishment as a response to a public health issue that requires the expertise of public health professionals.

Policymakers must acknowledge that the "war on drugs" has been a failure and invest in public health interventions, focusing on evidence-based prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, harm reduction, and community development. The evidence is clear – the political will to act on what we already know is needed for real change to occur, and we hope that this new plan of action will serve as the catalyst for member states to take the necessary steps.